At the Garden: 'Big 15' prove anything is possible

Saturday

May 29, 2010 at 12:01 AMMay 29, 2010 at 7:08 AM

The Celtics' 96-84 victory in Friday night's Game 6 proved wrong all those who doubted this team had what it takes to compete for a championship.

BOSTON — The last time the Boston Celtics were in the NBA Finals, it ended with Kevin Garnett clutching the Larry O'Brien trophy and proclaiming to the world, “Anything's possible!” Now that the Celts have returned to the Finals for the second time in three seasons, they're continuing to prove that statement to be true.

Boston beat the top-seeded Cavaliers in six games in the semifinal round. In six more, they sent the No. 2 seed (and defending conference champion) Magic packing. Their 96-84 victory in Friday night's Game 6 proved wrong all those who doubted this team had what it takes to compete for a championship. Beginning next week, they'll do just that, while all but one of the “favored” teams entering the postseason are watching from home.

“Nobody believed in this team, but we believed in ourselves,” owner and managing partner Wyc Grousbeck said.

The Celtics become just the second fourth seed to ever reach the NBA Finals (Dallas did it in 2006), and hope to become only the second team seeded lower than third to win a title. Houston won its second straight title in 1995 after entering the playoffs as the sixth seed.

In 2008, the Celtics certainly faced adversity en route to the Finals. They were taken to seven games by the young, athletic Hawks and by LeBron James and the Cavaliers. They relied on homecourt advantage in each series, before dispatching of the Detroit Pistons in six games in the Conference Finals.

This time, they got to celebrate the conference crown on their home parquet, after escaping a punishing series with the Magic that left them glad the Western Conference Finals are still ongoing and they'll have a little extra time to recover.

It's been a far different journey to the Finals this time around for the Green. They've gone 17 playoff games without the same player leading them in back-to-back games, an NBA record. Guys who had been big disappointments in the regular-season — most notably Rasheed Wallace and Nate Robinson — each had opportunities to define themselves as Celtics. In fact, Robinson was averaging just 4.9 minutes per game in the postseason this year before Rajon Rondo was shaken up in Game 6, and Robinson came off the bench to score 13 big points in the second quarter.

In 2008, it was all about the Big 3 of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Now, those veterans are members of the Big 4, along with point guard and superstar-in-waiting Rondo. Add to that mix the defensive prowess of Kendrick Perkins, the savvy off the bench of Wallace and the improved play of Glen Davis, and the Celtics are shaping up to be a deeper and more talented team than the last one that reached the Finals.

But just as Rivers said back in 2008, the Celtics are interested in the gold ball, not the silver one.

The entire basketball world outside of Phoenix is pulling for a Celtics-Lakers Finals, which would mark the 12th time the two teams have met for all the marbles. Boston owns a 9-2 advantage all-time, and leads in titles as well, 17-15—those 32 titles account for more than half of the 63 championships in NBA history. It's also a meeting of the two most recent champs as well, with the Celtics winning in 2008 and the Lakers winning last year.

Celtics-Lakers has the built-in drama that drives ratings, fan interest and player intensity. So many classic moments have occurred between those two teams during the Finals, including two years ago.

Would a Celtics-Suns series be just as entertaining? Well, why not? The two franchises met in the 1976 Finals, when Game 5 of that series went three overtimes and is still regarded to this day as the greatest game in NBA history. This year's Phoenix team follows its usual M.O. of the past decade — a great offense with lackluster defense. The Celtics could score at will against the Suns, and would only have to match that intensity on the defensive end to secure Banner No. 18.

But what would be the fun in that?

Tim Weisberg covers the Boston Celtics for The Standard-Times. Contact him at timweisberg@hotmail.com